albergue queries for a nervous first timer

[robertsma]

Hi all,

I'm planning on doing SJPDP to Santiago sections from April 7-8 and I had a few queries for those experienced or recently/currently on the walk.

1) Are the albergues in the towns safe to leave the rucksack (non expensive items only) after you arrive and go for a walk in the towns/dinner etc?

2) I'm not in any hurry and was planning on staying in hotels with rest/tourist days in Leon, Burgos, Ponferrada, Logrono, Pamplona but would I need to leave at the crack of dawn to get beds at the following night? Given that I'm going in April (Easter) through mid-May have people in the past been able to stop for lunch/visits to various towns along the way, or is it just a rush to the next overnight stay?

3) Has anyone recently found if the bed bug problem has been rectified?


Thanks so much for your help.

Marcus

PS Any other recommendations that haven't been explicitly mentioned in previous posts?

[Covey]

The security of kit in the albergues is not usually a problem, provided you are sensible and don't leave an ipod lying on the bunk whilst going out to look around.

Always carry your passport, pilgrim passport, money, credit cards and insurance documents and mobile phone on you at all times. I always carry my documents in a plastic bag in a button down pocket on my trousers.

Some use the security pouches you can buy around their waist or hanging around their neck.

When you are going there is not usually a shortage of rooms available, so no need to rush. If you were going in July/Sept then the trail gets a lot busier and you need to think about stopping around 3pm and find a bed.

If you are planning on doing 40kms a day, then you will not have time for lunch!! If you are doing 20kms a day, then leisurely lunches are on the menu!!

[robertsma]

Thanks so much for your reply. I was always planning on keeping belongings on me and I was more converned about the bag and clothes. I'm very glad that I may not be rushing as my biggest concern was rushing through it and not getting to experience the trip on the whole.

I must say that I'm looking forward to it considering it's a month away!

If you have done the trip onwards to Finisterre, was it worth the journey? My options are either that or backpack Portugal for a week.

Thanks Again,

Marcus

[Covey]

The trip to Finisterre is worth it, and many feel that it is the final leg of the journey, to what people then thought was the end of the world, although many are so shattered by the time they arrive at Santiago that they don't want to walk another mile, and catch the bus to Finisterre!!.

The pilgrims of old used to burn their clothes on the cliff at Finisterre as the sun sets and put on white garments to show their souls had been purified, but then they had not purchased $200 gortex rain jackets!!

It is nice to spend a couple of days in Santiago relaxing and having some decent food, and great fun to wander down to the square in front of the Cathedral in the morning to see who was arriving that day.

[dad]

Like robertsma I am feeling just a little nervous about staying at an albergue. My concerne is in relation to the rule that two stamps are needed in order to be allowed to stay at an albergue on a given day. How does that work out on the day of your arrival if you begin your Camino in Spain/Gallica as I will? Will I be allowed to stay in one or will I need to find alternative accommodation?

[Leslie]

My concerne is in relation to the rule that two stamps are needed in order to be allowed to stay at an albergue on a given day.

Must admit I have not come across this before. Pilgrim passports are too small to have two or three stamps on them every day. On my passports there are only the places where I stayed each night - sometimes I would add another if it seemed special to me, but very rarely.

Compared to most pilgrims now my preparation were soooo small. Though I had to learn a lot very quickly as I went along. I had no real idea of how important weight was - starting off with 13kg and about 15kg over-weight body wise - these were my two biggest problems - the first is the one that I suggest most should concentrate on. The last time I walked the Camino my pack was about 6kg and that makes a huge difference.

No-one will get refused from hostels because of their own ignorance, the Camino and most of the poeple along the route are very helpful and it is a forgiving environment.

I wish you all the best.

[Covey]

The "two stamp" rule only applies for those starting from Sarria. For those starting from anywhere before Sarria, you only need one stamp from the place where you sleep.

I use the phrase "where you sleep" because even the 5 star hotels along the route will stamp your pilgrim passport if you stay the night. The stamp is to show the pilgrim office at the Cathedral in Santiago that you have been where you say you have been!!

In reality, the only part that matters is the Sarria to Santiago leg as the rule is that a pilgrim walking the route has to prove you have walked 100kms to Santiago. Not any 100kms, but the last 100kms. If you walked from Pamplona to Ponferrada you will not get a Compostela from the Cathedral even though it is more than 100kms.

The "two stamps" from Sarria must include one from where you sleep and one from anywhere else. You will find stalls selling fruit outside houses which have a stamp!! Collecting stamps in the passport is a bit of a sport for some. The more stamps, the more Holy??

The pilgrim passport is a legal requirement to stay in an albergue as the licence to run an albergue stipulates that only pilgrims can stay the night and not tourists, hence the need to produce the passport for stamping every night.

The pilgrim office in Sarria normally puts TWO stamps in the passport when they issue it to cover the first day, but any bar will have a stamp (usually self service!!) for you to use.

The Compostella you get in Santiago is the same for walking the last 100kms or if you walked 2000kms to get there. Catholics get a slightly different Compostella than them wot are not of the Faith.

[robertsma]

Hi,

I am now through to Logro?o and any doubts I had are long gone. I don?t think you need 2 or 3 stamps a night because most of the albergues just stamp if you present the passport. I haven?t seen a single one yet that has looked through. I can?t imagine too many people whom would be going to them directly for a cheap night without walking as the snoring from some individuals is only counterracted with wax ear plugs, a lot of wine, and 25kms under your belt during that day.

You honestly won?t have any problems getting stamps if you wish to fill it up. My concern now is that I?m already running out of room after each albergue and the occasional church. I assume somewhere along the way you can pick up extra pages?

Cheers,

MR

[Leslie]

Hi MR,

I hope you are enjoying the Camino - I use the word enjoy, but I am never quite sure if that is the right description.

I am sat here in front of a computer in rather chilly Ireland working a fairly un-interesting client website, (key word research, dull), and I get so envious reading post from pilgrims currently on the Camino or those about to go. At least I am getting into the habit of checking the forum a few times a day and diverting myself away from the dull stuff.

Buen Camino